The players are rubbish, the web site is down. Misplaced Misery.

Misplaced Misery

by Don McMahon

Just how profound and deeply ingrained is the pessimism, negativism and miserable affiliation to the dark side of the Arsenal( and total disregard for the facts) some gunners seem to thrive on? After recent excellent displays and cohesive team efforts, the net was brimming over with praise for RVP and the inevitable predictions that he will be off to: (place the name of the Club you feel will poach him in January here ________________) because AW or Gazidis/the Board are too cheap to pay him what he’s worth!

It all started with many plastic fanboys moaning about how useless Chamakh is and how he hasn’t scored for AFC since last November and will never amount to anything. Nobody claims that Chamakh is RVP but when he was scoring in RVP’s absence last year, nobody said he should be sold in that January window. He is a hard working, committed team player who has lost his scoring touch and who is NOT getting much time to recover it, what with RVP’s phenomenal form.

The media has quickly picked up their theme of the month which is that Arsenal are a one man team and that RVP is headed for the exit as soon as he can legally find a suitor ready to pay him his deserved fortune. One of the commentators even said this out loud after RVP scored his second of the day!

Another blogger rightly pointed out that , despite United getting humbled by City, the media will NOT be carrying on about it like they did about AFC but will focus on Chelsea’s getting two players ejected and losing to QPR. No one dares parade SAF’s failures in public like they do Wenger’s, knowing that the United fans and management will not accept it but that too many plastic gunners loved the media’s crucifixion of AW, under the same circumstances.

Thanks to this constant barrage of negative press, even when AFC are in good form and winning, our gloomy-doomer AAA whiners feel happy and secure in the knowledge that, even now, they can snatch defeatism from the jaws of victory. Suddenly Van Persie is our ¨saviour¨, without whom AFC is pure excrement and his team mates are bumbling, inept and incompetent Wenger-drones, roaming around like headless chickens waiting for the next embarassing loss or tie.

Misery LOVES company and the media, pundits, too many asinine former Gunners, AAA’s and other Neanderthals eagerly grab at the spurious rumours, inventions and fabrications dragged out of thin air, inflated with hot air and sold like snake oil to our more gullible supporters by the self-titled experts.

There is NO doubt that every player AW chooses to field in the starting 11 or to sit on the bench, deserves to be there by dint of effort or commitment and has earned his place that particular day. Sure they may have a bad match or even a run of them but who doesn’t have an off day or two on occasion?

People criticize his substitutions but lately we don’t hear their whining because suddenly Arsene seems to have rediscovered his touch in that regard. Until recently Arshavin, Chamakh and Djourou were pure shite and should be sold off in a giant firesale in January according to the sad,mad,lads and lassies holding up poorly spelt and mindless banners on the net. Now we are winning, there are new targets of derision such as Walcott, Jenkinson, and Ramsey (for awhile) but these fickle and feckless fan-boys will soon find more fault with others, as it is in their very nature to denigrate what they purport to love and so it shall remain, regardless of reality.

Despite all this pointless and desperate groaning, I am feeling more and more confident that, as our injured return, as out team gels more and more and as the season takes its toll on the current leaders, we could still pull of a classic Arsenal resurgence that would see us shutting the groaners up once and for all!

superb article..what really bemuses me is that they are some “fans” who still call koscielny shit and average and that we should pay what bolton want for “world class” cahill..seriously are AAA that thick or just decide to act stupid? we lose games due to referees,they call for the manger`s head and say that we should sell all our players because they are not good enough and get hazard/gotze/martin/ronaldo/messi bla bla bla…now we are on a run of 7 wins in 8 and they still find a way to moan..why do they even bother call themselves supporters of arsenal if they cant enjoy it when we are doing well?

i wonder whether those so called fans who spew such bile are on payrolls of the homophobic media, or they are opposing fans who feel threatened so decide to destabilize Arsenal. RVP is a strikers and his primary role is to score,if he does that alone,it doesn’t make us a oneman team, others create the chances for him.If anyone else in the team scores, its a bonus. Those same fans and media seem to have shut up about the glaring stats recently about UTD being the worst of the top 7 defensively but find some more bile to spit about AFC . I can only wonder why.

you say at the end of your blog we may be able to shut the negitive fans up i do not think that can ever be acheived the press have got so far in to our fan base only 9 champions leagues
and 10 consective premier leagues and pat rice winning the 100 mtrs at next years olympics in 7.9 secs would allow some of our shallow fans to open there eyes and see what we already have
last night bolton c/cup i witnessed the new generation not screaming obscene remarks at wengers team selection not verbally
abusing a certain player they dislike but fans who came to watch there favourite team blood there new young and second string players everybody around me seemed to have bought a programe or something from the shop people that were at the emirates for the first time gave fleeting glances to the scoreboard every time a player did something good so they would know who it was i am a home and away fan my passion is to watch arsenal win or lose to support the manager the players and my fellow supporters sing our way to victory
with the a little lady luck i think we can win at chelsea
but even if we lose it will not be a season ending game and we will not be the only team that loses at stanford bridge this season

I have not heard from Adam Kemp recently. Just wondering why he has gone silent and why his silence coincides with the on going winning streak. I suppose he does not like the winning streak but the whining streak.

Really??? Almunia deserved to play as our number 1 for years? considering our past Goal Keepers….i think not. Denilson….? umm NO. Mikael Silvestre deserved to put on the cannon on his chest? FUCK OFF HE’S SCUM! Squillaci? no thanks…but thats just my opinion.

While I agree with 80% of what you say, The way you say it, who it’s aimed at, and the fact that your are effectively just posting a bashing article against certain section of the Arsenal fanbase, I will just say this, and it’s entirely my own opinion. Posts like this are just as bad as any posts from other blogs and websites that are “anti-arsenal-arsenal” or “Arsene-Knows-Best” whatever the fuck they are.

Everyone is entitled to his or own opinion (however ill formed/demented/sick/psychotic/delusional/optimistic etc.) they are. Just because you hold different set of views and insights shouldn’t give you the right to deride others for their own views. Especially as your writing comes across as a holier-than-thou.

At the end of the day, Arsenal blogs should be focused on the various Arsenal teams…not having a slanging match with other supporter OF THE SAME CLUB! that’s just moronic and perpetuates the problem.

Good article, although I suppose I could complain that you stole the topic of my latest Untold Media report that I just submitted. 🙂 But what the hell, if there’s anything we can learn from these people, it’s that repetition works, right? 🙂 And besides, I guess this whole RVP “one man team” angle has gotten so obvious that it’s hard to miss. Overall, nice work.

I myself have wondered many times how many of these AAA fans could actually be on the payroll of media outlets. While I’m sure that some of them are real fans (who might be a bit misguided in some cases), I’m equally sure that not all of them are real fans. Glad you brought this up.

I must say i feel much more comfortable with this current team. No more butterflies that lasted until the final whistle while watching the matches.
I think this is what the team really needed, a period of blending together which was not there in the last few seasons. Especially now many “star” players are injured, which lets the others get games and learn to play with each other. Rotation was sadly missing in previous teams, which i think is necessary for 25 players to learn to play together instead of just 11.
And AW seems to have been forced to start to study or revisit tactical football, and not relying on starting out of the gates like the proverbial hare, running out of steam and freshness near the end of the game.
All in all i see this new AFC team becoming a force to be reconed with again, but one built on a solid foundation(stone), unlike the previous seasons’ teams which were built on sand, that is why we always crumbled at the slightest pressure.
Onward AFC. A few more additions in Jan to season the pot and we are good for this season.

Good article Don. The media are changing their presentation to suit the circumstances, but, the underlying purpose of most of the media still seems to be the undermining of AW and therefore Arsenal as a team and club.

Glad this site is back!
Agree with a lot of what you say Para, this team seem to be gaining a strength about them, tho maybe less entertaining than prev vers….. at the moment. There seems to be a strong team ethis, maybe because of some new players but also because a bad apple or two has gone, I mean this in relative terms of course and I do not in any way refer to Cesc.
There will be setbacks, but these need to be put in the context of what this team have been up against, as Wenger said, lesser teams with less unity could have been destroyed by recent months. Unfortunately, some of our fans do not possess context.
I have been on a few different Arsenal sites lately. The AAA seem a mix of the genuinely passionate but frustrated, the mixed up, those who take in everything the media says, some are still going on about Scotty Parker FFS! Also those who are so set in their bitter agendas, they want the worst for the club as a means to get Martin ONeill or Ancelotti or whoever in. Yes, I have seen some of them posting that more good comes out of losing at the moment, they then start going off on tangents about AKBs, attendance figures or whatever. Then there are the fakes and trolls, I think some underestimate how much of their material finds its way onto some of these sites.
The media , as we know do not help, no reports of Fergie losing the plot, suffering mental illness, being tactically inept, unable to coach defending etc, and luckily for SAF, JT seems to be taking up all the column inches at the moment. Just read a report in the Sun, by that Kastriados (sic) guy who did not have a good word to say about our win against Bolton.
Anyway, things are starting to look up. I fear we may be up against a ref assisted Chelsea (Is Martin Atkinson the ref does anyone know?)this weekend after their 2 sendings off , and AVB whinging but lets see what happens.
AAA aside, I think a lot of people are learning to love this team, there are few greater qualities than true strength in adversity, something Wenger is showing he has in abundance, shame that does not make such a good story for the UK media

AMR…..did you really read the article and seek its spirit rather than just superficially critiquing it? Here are my points in case you missed them;

1)everyone deserves to have a forum to express their opinions and I NEVER intimated otherwise but to repetitively denigrate everything AW or AFC is neither a right nor a priviledge!
2)I am bashing the bashers but only once and I am trying to suggest to them that a more objective view is welcome rather than the ceaseless AAA, Wenger-hating, blinkered ignorance shown by this lot. I am NOt the only one bashing these moaners and that being the case, I don’t need to justify my right to critique them.
3)If my writing comes across as holier than thou, that is unfortunate as I am among the humblest and most reticent supporters of AFC. I have my experience and expertise which I am glad to share with others but don’t confuse me with God please!
4)It seems somewhat spurious to remind everyone that it wasn’t the Arsenal and Wenger supporters who started this campaign to destroy Arsene’s reputation and demean AFC. That said, I write about 4 articles a week, and of that number only 1 in 20 bashes the AAAs so it isn’t a plethora of rants by any means. compare that to the 100-200 anti Wenger,anti-Arsenal diatribes seen on sites like LeGrove and ArsenalInsider.

A very succinct and, I believe, accurate breakdown of the AAA there. I also agree with you that this team really seems to be coming into their own. And while the impact of the media shouldn’t be downplayed, has anyone else noticed the amazing level of support Arsenal is receiving from the fans during their matches?

You can hear the fans all throughout, showing their support for the club and players, and it’s at a level that I don’t recall hearing last season. Based on that, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that this media campaign is failing. Fingers crossed.

Perhaps certain segments of the Arsenal fanbase are deserving of criticism.

What would be the other alternative? To sit back and, out of “respect,” say nothing while a certain segment of purported Arsenal “supporters” do everything within their power to destabilize the club and bring it down from within?

Or to sit back and say nothing while other segments of well-meaning Arsenal supporters are misled by the media into taking actions that are destructive towards the club, while they believe that they are acting in the club’s best interests?

I’m sorry, but I don’t buy your argument at all. It would be one thing to criticize other Arsenal fans for simply having a difference of opinion, but that’s not the case here. This is about the larger issue of defending Arsenal against people who are attacking it. It’s just a shame that, in this case, the attackers are people who call themselves fans of the club.

Ok, we might have to re-evaluate this whole idea about my intelligent postings. 🙂 In my response to Dan above, it appears that I actually overlooked the fact that Diaby is back in full training and is apparently due back in a couple of weeks. So, yeah, got that one wrong 🙂

Great article, I really enjoyed reading that. People like Amr can simply jog on and attempt to do something productive with their lives.

@ RobL, nope you are not! As I was so happy with what happened in that match and they are now getting the ‘Arsenal’ treatment in matches from ref’s. I was hoping that Villa Boas would of been forced to play Torres too, instead of saving him for Saturday, but heay you can’t always have everything. Anelka and Luiz must be exhausted and so it will be interesting to see if they play.

I am glad Chelsea, Man U and City are still in the competition as I want them to be forced to rotate and have just as a demanding schedule as us over the next few months.

Another blogger rightly pointed out that , despite United getting humbled by City, the media will NOT be carrying on about it like they did about AFC but will focus on Chelsea’s getting two players ejected and losing to QPR. No one dares parade SAF’s failures in public like they do Wenger’s, knowing that the United fans and management will not accept it

Are you saying that Arsemal management should be doing more to prevent the negative press if so what ?

To be honest I am thrilled we are slowly winning games and climbing the table but also feel theres a lot of hard work ahead of us.

As for chamak its hard to watch him at the moment I want him to do better as he is one of our players but can understand some fans frustrations what you said above is suggestioning we all ignore his poor form I dont agree with that anymore than I agree with chastising him.

I don’t think the media campaign is anything personal, just business. Like the old saying goes ‘Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story’, we can blame the media but unfortunately stories bashing AW and Arsenal make good copy!
Why? AAA

Until the self sustaining loop of AAA and meida is broken nothing will change, also you have good meaning Arsenal fans reading negative articles out of outrage. Negative fans want to read negative stuff, positive fans don’t want to read negative stuff but are enthralled anyway.

Most googled football team on the internet…..Arsenal!!! Why? People want to find out about the latest crisis, its turned into a soap opera more so than any other club!

A first class article.I dont know if anyone watched the league cup show on the BBC last night.What a total plonker Mark Bright is.He kept refering to aldershot as Torquay,why? then said “United gave a solid proffesional display against Aldershot.Bloody hell they were playing against a poor div 2 team!.Then on the Arsenal match he went onto say that they(us) were lucky and he is not convinced.We played a premier league oufit who had a strong line up!
BBC bias?
Best quote! Chelsea Manager dedicating there win against Everton to that low life Terry! I give up.

@ Paul, I was quite disappointed with the coverage of our game, because I really wanted see Squillaci’s and Fabinaski’s key interceptions because I was seated down the other end. I think the BBC only showed about 1 minute of our game and the commentator’s did not bother with a match reaction by the two managers either. Mark Bright suprised me when he gave his verdict that we were not convincing and was quite dismissive of our achievement of coming from behind to win the game. I even think they muted the sound level of the game too so you could get a sense of the real atmosphere too.

RedGooner……I am saying that AFC’s marketing and PR staff have to start bombarding the media with positive and truthful accomplishments of our current Club and more players’ statements that they are happy at and enjoying life at the Emirates.

As far as Chamakh goes, we cannot honestly ignore his poor form at the moment BUT as intelligent(hopefully) and fair-minded (necessarily)supporters, we have an ethical and moral obligation to give him the same respect we’d reserve for any of our players, regardless of their current form. Why deify RVP (although he plays divinely) and demonize Chamakh (who form is diabolical ) when we should know that both of them are giving the same effort for FC and the former is playing 99% of the time while the latter rarely sees more than 45 minutes every second game? It is a case of apples and oranges and when Chamakh begins to return to form, as he inevitably will, then his critics will be forced to eat their words.
that is what I am saying Red!